What must a summons to a witness itself state before the witness is asked to attend?
General information · Not legal advice
Material to check
In a practice file we read the copy of the summons that was served on the witness, the proof of service showing what that copy contained, and the party's application for witness examination, whose matters of examination the summons must summarise.
These are types of material to look for, not evidence already verified by PRO SE.
Where readings differ
One reading takes the provision at its word: a summons to a witness must carry each of the listed items, namely the identification of the party, the gist of the matters on which the witness will be examined, and the legal sanction that applies if the witness does not attend, so a summons missing any one of these does not state what this provision requires.
Another reading notes what the provision does not settle: it lists what the summons must state, but not how much detail the gist of the examination matters must carry, not who prepares or serves the summons, and not what follows for the witness if a listed item was left out or is wrong.
Your judgment
Where the served copy omits one of the listed items, what in the file would show what the witness was actually told before being asked to attend?
PRO SE does not make this decision or keep a case record on this public site.When to reconsider
We look at this again if the provision is amended to add or remove a listed item, or if a court decision explains how detailed the gist of the examination matters must be or what follows when a listed item is missing.